Absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, incontinence garments, and the like conventionally include a liquid permeable body-facing liner, a liquid impermeable outer cover, and an absorbent core (also referred to as an absorbent body or absorbent structure) formed separate from the outer cover and liner. The absorbent core is disposed between the body-facing liner and the outer cover, and positioned at least within a crotch region of the article for receiving and retaining body exudates (e.g., urine, menses, blood) exuded by the wearer.
Some known absorbent articles include containment flaps attached to the body-facing liner to contain and/or inhibit body exudates exuded by the wearer from leaking out of the absorbent article. Such containment flaps are typically formed by folding a nonwoven material and bonding the folded material to the body-side liner. The containment flaps are typically spaced-apart and extend in a longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. The containment flaps are typically attached to the body-side liner laterally inward of the side edges of the body-side liner to provide an attachment region located laterally outwards of the containment flaps for attaching the body-side liner to the outer cover.
The outer covers of such absorbent articles typically include an attachment region corresponding to the attachment region of the body-side liner for bonding the body-side liner to the outer cover. The containment flaps, body-side liners, and outer covers requires additional material in the crotch region along lateral outer portions of the body-side liner and the outer cover for attaching the body-side liner to the outer cover outward from the containment flaps. Such additional material causes the crotch region to be wider than functionally necessary. Further, such additional material through the crotch region of the absorbent article typically has a “ruffled” appearance along the lateral outer portions. Such characteristics are often undesirable, particularly in absorbent articles designed to look like underwear, which typically have relatively narrow, unruffled crotch regions.
There is a need, therefore, for an absorbent article and methods of manufacturing such an absorbent article having containment flaps configured to decrease the overall width of the crotch region of the article, while maintaining the performance of the article and providing an underwear like look, fit and feel.